Nardeen Massoud BCBA

04/03/2025

Today marks ONE year of ACE. ACE is a vision and a dream I’ve had for so many years, it’s something I’ve had at the back of mind since I was in school. I always knew I wanted to open up my own special needs center, it was always just a matter of “When is the right time?” Or “Am I ready for this?”. And I’ve learnt that no one will ever be fully ready for “this” - you just have to do it and learn as you go 😄 Nothing could ever prepare you for starting your own business - the inability to just pause and breathe for a second, because “What if?” and because of the huge responsibility you feel towards your team and the children you serve.

Over this past year, I’ve experienced some very high highs and some lows. Nothing beats the feeling of hearing a client say their first word, seeing them go to nursery/school for the first time, or hearing positive feedback from parents about small daily wins they’re seeing. Any skill that will help them cope better is celebrated! It’s been a year of pushing every day to train up my team and staff even if it felt like I’m running on zero battery. A year of shuffling, changing, stabilizing, changing again and perfecting our systems to be as efficient and effective as possible to serve our mission.

I’m so proud of how far we’ve come, of the trust our parents have given us, of the compassion we have among the team, of the personal relationships built and much much more. ACE is a team effort, we wouldn’t have been here without the amazing team of therapists that give their all every day to help make a difference and the admin team that works tirelessly behind the scenes to make sure things are running smoothly.

Getting to do this job is not something I take lightly and I’m thankful for this journey. Stay tuned for this next year, we have big things coming 🤩

22/10/2024

My heart breaks for the parents I work with every single day. People often ask me “How do you work with kids with special needs? Don’t you feel sorry for them?” and my answer is almost always “no”. And I don’t. These kids are some of the purest people you’ll ever interact with. They have the biggest hearts, they’re happy, they’re content, they’re pleased by the smallest of things. If I’m having a bad day, just one smile, hug, milestone achieved, turns it around. And this is not to glorify anyone with any kind of developmental disorder, behavioral or learning difficulty, because it’s not all rainbows and sunshine (it’s actually very far from that).

But the struggles their parents go through every. single. day. to get their kid to be accepted in society, tolerated in social settings, admitted in schools, able to participate in mundane day-to-day activities that we all take for granted is beyond me. These parents have quite literally dedicated their entire lives to their child, yet no matter what they do, it’s not good enough for society.

I’ve seen parents move countries to get better services for their child, I’ve seen some drive from different cities that are 2 hours away (that’s 4 hours total) just for their child to attend a 2-hour session, give up on their passion and careers, spend way more than their means, and exhaust every single path that might have them see their child 1% better than they what they currently are.

Just in this last week I have had to console 3 different parents (both mothers and fathers) who have come into my office crying as they are at a loss as to what to do with their child. They live and exist to see their child do better. Yet no matter what they do, again it’s not good enough.

So please, be kind. Think twice before you throw a judgement on a parent who’s trying their best. Try to understand, instead of react. These parents don’t choose to have a child who can’t speak, a child who’s aggressive or a child that functions many many years behind their actual age. If you see a child throwing a fit on the supermarket floor, it’s not that the parents have failed in parenting them. It’s very likely that they are struggling with something. And parents are not to blame for that. It’s bound to happen to any of us and at the end of the day, we’re all trying our best :)

15/02/2024

04/02/2024

I’m excited and proud to announce the opening of my own ABA Center done in collaboration with Royal Kings School. We will be providing the FIRST ABA day program in Egypt under the supervision of a BCBA as well as serving children and adolescents up to the age of 18 years.

Please like, follow and share for more updates!

27/12/2023

I got the chance to do this podcast episode on self-care and hygiene in individuals with autism starting from a young age all the way to early adulthood. Check it out!

The Ana Huna podcast is tailored specifically to parents to raise awareness and simplify a wide range of topics in Arabic.

جالي الفرصة لعمل بودكاست علي موضوع رعاية الذات و النظافة الشخصية في أطفال طيف التوحد بدءا من السن المبكر حتي مرحلة البلوغ و فيما بعد. اتمني يبقي مفيد

تم تصميم بودكاست أنا هنا مخصوص للأهالي للوعي و تبسيط مواضيع مختلفة باللغة العربية

تابعونا على جميع منصّات البودكاست واليوتيوب linktr.ee/AnaHuna.podcast

02/12/2023

Just sharing a glimpse of what I’ve been up to - had so much fun presenting to parents on the Essentials for Living (EFL) curriculum. Alex and I have worked so hard on developing this curriculum, going from only using it for 5 students to now over 30 students.

EFL is all about functional skills and we’ve seen so many students strive on it! Parents left asking for their child to be on it 🙌🏼

*note: not all curriculums are suitable for all students but EFL is definitely one to keep in your toolkit

27/11/2023

I had the pleasure of attending the 1st ABA conference in Egypt this past weekend and it exceeded my expectations! Apart from the fact that the presenters and topics were interesting and engaging, the conference was so well organised! It was so good getting to see Egypt’s BCBAs under one roof and watch the passion each and every one has for the field.

Thank you Menna M Mahrous for putting this together and I’m looking forward for many more in Egypt!

20/03/2022

Happy World Behavior Analysis Day! A day like this serves as a reminder to stop and appreciate the science that we have. Let’s keep growing and serving 👊🏼

02/10/2021

Happy weekend! I’d like to get to know you guys better! Are you a professional in the field, parent or other? What are things you would like to see on this page?

عايزة اتعرف عليكوا اكتر. هل إنتوا أخصائيين او اهل؟ ايه الحجات اللي حابين تشوفوها علي الصفحة دي؟

25/09/2021

We all know reinforcement is something that happens after a behaviour (a stimulus is added or removed) that increases its future frequency. But how can you make it even more effective? See below!

1. Deprivation: the individual must have had limited access to that item to make sure they are motivated to access it

2. Immediacy: the reinforcer must be presented immediately after the behaviour (within 3-5 seconds). The longer the delay, the less likely it will be effective

3. Size: the size of the reinforcer should equal the response effort required to complete the target behaviour

4. Contingent: the reinforcer should be presented following the specific target behaviour

DISC is a fun and easy way to remember these 4 factors!

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نعلم جميعًا أن التعزيز هو شيء يحدث بعد السلوك (إضافة أو إزالة الحافز) الذي يزيد من حصوله في المستقبل. لكن كيف يمكنك جعله أكثر فعالية؟

1. الحرمان: يجب أن يكون لدى الفرد وصول محدود إلى المعزز للتأكد من تحفيزهم للوصول إليه

2. فوري: يجب تقديم المعزز مباشرة بعد السلوك (في خلال 3-5 ثوان). كلما طال التأخير ، قل احتمال فعاليته

3. الحجم: يجب أن يساوي حجم المعزز جهد الاستجابة

4. مشروط: يجب تقديم المعزز بعد السلوك المستهدف

DISC - وسيلة سهلة لتذكر هذه العوامل الأربعة

17/09/2021

Hello, my name is Nardeen Massoud and I am a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA). I studied abroad in the United Kingdom for 4 years. I completed my undergraduate degree in Psychology, Development and Developmental Disorders at Royal Holloway, University of London. I then completed my Masters of Science in Applied Behavior Analysis (Intellectual and Developmental Disability) at University of Kent.

I work primarily with children and adolescents aged 2-18 years with autism, developmental disabilities and behavioral challenges but also have experience running a vocational program for young adults. The purpose of this page is to connect with other professionals in the field, parents and anyone who is interested in the science of behavior analysis.